Hugh Griffith

Hugh Griffith Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: May 30, 1912

Death Date: May 14, 1980

Birth Place: Marian Glas, Anglesey, Wales, UK

Wild-eyed, with a hook nose and often sporting a pointed beard and mustache, this Welsh character actor turned in a number of flamboyant, hearty performances. Hugh Griffith got a relatively late start. Born in Wales, he worked as a bank clerk until 1939, when he made his stage debut at the age of 27, and entered films the next year with the British-made "Neutral Port." Griffith spent the 1940s and 50s slowly building up his film career (making only one US release, "So Evil My Love" 1948). He played supporting roles in twenty or so films, including some successes like "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949) and "The Sleeping Tiger" (1954) before scoring his biggest hit in the US-made 1959 remake of "Ben Hur." Playing Sheik Ilderim, the wry chariot mogul, Griffith earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Griffith worked steadily for the next two decades, turning in estimable performances in another 34 films, most of them British-made. These included big-budget hits and misses such as "Story on Page One" (1959), "Exodus" (1960), "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), "Tom Jones" (for which he earned a second Best Supporting Actor nomination), "How to Steal a Million" (1966) and "Oliver!" (1968). Quality fell off somewhat in the 70s, with schlock like "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971), "Who Slew Auntie Roo?" (1971) and "The Last Remake of Beau Geste" (1977). Griffith also appeared in two TV-movies, "Inn of the Flying Dragon" (NBC, 1960) and "The Poppy is Also a Flower" (ABC, 1966).

Credits

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

Actor
Sid Larkin
Movie
1979

Grand Slam

Actor
Caradog Lloyd-Evans
Movie
1978

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Actor
Frankland
Movie
1978

Casanova & Co.

Actor
The Caliph
Movie
1977

The Last Remake of Beau Geste

Actor
Judge
Movie
1977

Bridges to Heaven

Actor
Movie
1975

Take Me High

Actor
Sir Harry Cunningham
Movie
1975

Legend of the Werewolf

Actor
Maestro Pamponi
Movie
1975

High School Girl

Actor
Movie
1974

The Last Days of Man on Earth

Actor
Professor Hira
Movie
1973

Luther

Actor
John Tetzel
Movie
1973

Diary of Forbidden Dreams

Actor
Joseph Noblart
Movie
1973

Dr. Phibes Rises AgainStream

Actor
Harry Ambrose
Movie
1972
59%

Who Slew Auntie Roo?

Actor
Mr. Harrison
Movie
1972

The Canterbury Tales

Actor
Sir January
Movie
1971

The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Actor
Rabbi
Movie
1971
88%

Start the Revolution Without MeStream

Actor
King Louis
Movie
1970
83%

Cry of the Banshee

Actor
Mickey
Movie
1970

Wuthering Heights

Actor
Dr. Kenneth
Movie
1970

Cinturón de Castidad

Actor
Movie
1968

On My Way to the Crusades I Met a Girl Who...

Actor
Ibn-el-Rascid
Movie
1968

The Fixer

Actor
Lebedev
Movie
1968

Oliver!Stream

Actor
The Magistrate
Movie
1968
90%

The Chastity Belt

Actor
Ibn-el-Rascid
Movie
1968

Drop Dead, My Love

Actor
Ignazio
Movie
1968

Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad

Actor
Commodore Roseabove
Movie
1967

Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad

Actor
Commodore Roseabove
Movie
1967

The Sailor From Gibraltar

Actor
Llewellyn
Movie
1967

How to Steal a MillionStream

Actor
Charles Bonnet
Movie
1966
100%

The Poppy Is Also a Flower

Actor
Salah Rahman Khan
Movie
1966

The Bargee

Actor
Joe Turnbull
Movie
1964

Hide and Seek

Actor
Wilkins
Movie
1964

Tom JonesStream

Actor
Squire Western
Movie
1963
81%

Bargee

Actor
Joe Turnbull
Movie
1963

The Counterfeit TraitorStream

Actor
Collins
Movie
1962

Mutiny on the BountyStream

Actor
Alexander Smith
Movie
1962
70%

Lisa

Actor
Van der Pink
Movie
1962

Term of Trial

Actor
O'Hara
Movie
1962

Dow Hour of Great Mysteries

Actor
Show
1960

ExodusStream

Actor
Mandria
Movie
1960
65%

The Day They Robbed the Bank of England

Actor
O'Shea
Movie
1960

Ben-HurStream

Actor
Sheik Ilderim
Movie
1959
85%

The Story on Page One

Actor
Judge Edgar Neilsen
Movie
1959

Lucky Jim

Actor
Professor Welch
Movie
1957

The Good Companions

Actor
Morton Mitcham
Movie
1957

Passage Home

Actor
Pettigrew
Movie
1956

Colonel March of Scotland Yard

Guest Star
Dr. Ivy
Show
1955

The Sleeping Tiger

Actor
The Inspector
Movie
1954

Rheingold Theatre

Actor
Show
1953

The Titfield Thunderbolt

Actor
Dan
Movie
1953

The Beggar's Opera

Actor
The Beggar
Movie
1953

Laughter in Paradise

Actor
Henry Augustus Russell
Movie
1951

Gone to Earth

Actor
Andrew Vessons
Movie
1950

A Run for Your Money

Actor
Huw Price
Movie
1949

Kind Hearts and CoronetsStream

Actor
Lord High Steward
Movie
1949
100%

Le Jour où l'on dévalisa la Banque d'Angleterre

Actor
Movie
1949

The Last Days of Dolwyn

Actor
The Minister
Movie
1949

London Belongs to Me

Actor
Headlam Fynne
Movie
1948

So Evil My Love

Actor
Coroner
Movie
1948

The First Gentleman

Actor
Bishop of Salisbury
Movie
1948